Court rejects easing of 'dolphin-safe' rules

Items compiled from Tribune news servicesCHICAGO TRIBUNE

A Bush administration attempt to loosen rules for catching "dolphin-safe" tuna so more Mexican imports could be allowed into the country was scuttled Friday by a federal appeals court, which said government agencies had ignored congressional mandates and allowed politics to interfere with science.

The ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco could be the last word on the government's decade-long effort to relax dolphin-safe labeling standards, established by a 1990 federal law.

Scientific evidence shows a "strong likelihood" that tuna fishing is hurting dolphin populations in the eastern Pacific, contrary to the administration's position, the court said.